It’s been a tough couple of years for Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts. The former No. 4 overall pick entered the league with enormous expectations and lived up to them during his rookie season. Pitts has struggled since the team traded away quarterback Matt Ryan in 2022.
Thus far in 2024, the 23-year-old has been slightly better with Kirk Cousins under center. Pitts finished Sunday’s loss to Kansas City with two catches for 59 yards, including an impressive 50-yard reception.
However, the play everyone was talking about after the game was the controversial red-zone incompletion in which a Chiefs defender appeared to interfere with Pitts. This third-down no-call was a turning point in the game and now some are speaking out about a perceived bias towards the Chiefs.
Count former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski among those who believe the Falcons were the latest example of the league giving preferential treatment to the Chiefs.
“Here’s the problem, the Kansas City Chiefs got the call the week before versus the Cincinnati Bengals for the pass interference call on the fourth-and-16,” Gronkowski told NFL reporter Kay Adams on Wednesday. “Therefore, the Atlanta Falcons should have gotten that call.”
Gronkowski said he would have been okay with the no-call had the Chiefs not benefitted from a similar call in Week 2.
“Call it even,” begged Gronkowski. “The Kansas City Chiefs got the call last week, so the Atlanta Falcons should have gotten the call this week as well. So, yes. It was BS they did not get it.”
.@RobGronkowski sounds off on the #Falcons not getting the same PI call as the #Chiefs did the week before 😡🔊
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) September 25, 2024
"CALL IT EVEN."@heykayadams @AtlantaFalcons @Chiefs pic.twitter.com/o4LnwEhMh4
The Falcons cannot dwell on the play because they have an even bigger game within the division this Sunday against the 2-1 New Orleans Saints. A 1-3 start would be tough for Atlanta to recover from, so this is essentially a must-win game for the team even though it’s only Week 4.
The Falcons listed running back Bijan Robinson and linebacker Matthew Judon as questionable on Thursday’s injury report. Right tackle Kaleb McGary did not participate for the second day in a row. Make sure to check out the team’s latest injury report and depth chart heading into Sunday’s matchup.
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